Journal of Public Relations Research

Topić, Martina

2021 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2021.2015089

Neill, Marlene S.; Meng, Juan

2021 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2021.2010555

Women who aspire to leadership positions in public relations have to develop political astuteness when it comes to addressing ascribed identities and expectations associated with gender and race. Through 51 in-depth interviews with women working in mid-management and senior-executive level positions in public relations in the U.S., this study provides new insights into women’s perceptions regarding the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to succeed in public relations leadership. The study revealed some women’s preferences for contemporary management styles such as servant leadership and transformational leadership as well as barriers to advancement and influence, particularly for women of color.

Meng, Juan; Neill, Marlene S.

2021 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2021.2010556

The purpose of this research is to introduce inclusive leadership as a new theoretical framework to understand its meaning and functions in advancing gender equalities and empowerment in public relations leadership. By proposing an inclusive leadership theoretical model, we explored the roles of inclusive leadership in fostering an organization’s diversity climate and facilitating its practice of participative leadership in empowering women in public relations to reach their full potential in leadership advancement. Moreover, our results confirmed both direct and indirect impacts inclusive leadership could have on women’s perceptions of continued career growth opportunities. Our findings provide theoretical implications and practical solutions to address women’s leadership challenges through an inclusive leadership lens.

Madden, Stephanie; Levenshus, Abbey

2021 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2021.2015354

This study offers a rare ethnographic lens into a political training program’s efforts to develop women’s leadership communication as a public relations process. Drawing from participant observation, interviews, and documents, findings indicate the importance of developing a leadership mind-set and authentic leadership communication rooted in intersecting identities, tensions surrounding authentic relational communication and the importance of building cohort-based supportive communities for women leaders. By broadening the umbrella of who counts as women leaders in public relations, the study opens additional contexts (political training programs) and concepts (vulnerability) for the field.

Moreno, Angeles; Fuentes Lara, Cristina; Tench, Ralph

2021 Journal of Public Relations Research

doi: 10.1080/1062726X.2021.2010557

This paper proposes the theory of integrated gendered work evaluation in public relations (IGWE). It holds that gender inequalities in the workplace are intrinsically linked to work-related evaluations, specifically measured through levels of satisfaction and stress. We theoretically place our proposal in the integrative phase of feminist theory that acknowledges the holistic nature of workers’ lives and their commitment to fulfill not only their worker or employer roles but also their commitments to family and communities. The empirical contribution of this paper builds on past debates from two decades ago: the need for research to isolate factors that perpetuate gender discrimination. It explores factors of gender inequalities and conflicts that can affect the work-related evaluation of those people who make up the majority of the industry’s employees: female public relations professionals. IGWE theory provides a new way of identifying, contextualizing, theorizing and analyzing how gender discriminations affect work evaluations combining both workplace and private life experiences from an integrated gender perspective.